Can-washing machine.



. system of circulating pipes associated with said tank whereby thesame body' of said machine embodying our.

its plan of'construction and operation, and which shall be adapted autoi have invented a certain new and useful Im-. provement 1n Can-Washmg Machines, of

which the followin' isa specification.

Our invention re ates to improvements 1 n can-washing machines of that class which 1s employed 1n canneries for washing cans that have been filled with eration of placing labels thereon, and the objectof our invention is to provide a can- 'washingmachine which sh'al be simple in eflicient in its matically to operate to conduct cans successively over the to edge of one end wall of a: tank, thence ownwardly to submerge fiuid contained in said them in cleansing tank and there subject their surfaces to strong'currents of such cleansing fluid, and then carry them obliquely upward to and over the top edge of the other end Wall to the. exterior of said tank, there to dispose them on a chute or otherform of conveyer for delivering them" to a desired point, said strong current of said cleansing fluid being produced by apump in connectlon with a cleansing fluid may be, continuously used. We accomplishthis object by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings Wherein- Figure 1 is a plan view of a can-washing I invention as it appears with its cover removed; Fig. 2 is a view of the same in vertical section on broken line z, z' of Fig. 1 as it appears with its cover in place; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the upper portion. of the intake end of the structure shown in-Fig. 2; and Fig. 4

of'parts of the structure shown in Fig. 2'. f

Referring to "the drawings throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, Figs. 1 and 2 show an oblong tank comprising a bottom wall 5, two vertical side walls 6 and 7 one vertical end wall 8 and an-.

portion is replaced by a wall -10 that extends Specification of Letters Patent.

Nronons, citizens of the food products and r sealed, to prepare such cans for the final opplane that registers is an enlargedview in crosssection, on broken l ne 3 y,

rnrna rr. McCUE AND .rosnrn a. mcnors, or snarrm, wees-mom.

' cenvasnme macnmn.

Patented Apr. a, rare.

' Application filed Deoeihlnzr 6, 1915. Serial No. 86,019.

outwardly and obliquely upwardly to a plane adjacent to thetop ed es of the side walls 6 and 7 andby side walls 11 and 12, thus to provide said tank with a coverless portion that pro ects outwardly from one of its ends, ts larger portion being covered by a hood 13 of semi-circular 1 cross-section, as more clearly shown in Fig; 3, said hood 13 being open at both of its ends.

As indicated by the several broken lines 14, the tank is nearly filled with a cleansing fluid made of water and suitable chemicals, and'two bars 15 and 16 of angle iron, from each other, to form a trackway for cans, are disposed to extend into the canreceiving end of said tank over the top edge of the end wall 8, thence obliquely downward beneath the surface of said cleansing fluid for a distanceequal to about, two thlrds of the depth of said tank where said bars 15 and 16. are secured to'abracket 17, thence in an inclined plane out of said cleansing fluid to and-through the open end of the hood 13 0 said tank, thence to a at the delivery end bracket '18 to'which said bars 15 and 16 are also fastened, and thence to and over a sprocket wheel 19'where they again decline to-form a chute 45 asmore clearly shown in Fig. 2. The bracket17 is secured to' the bottom wall and it also serves to support a sprocket wheel 20 which is rotatably mounted on a stud 21 fixed therein. The'sprocket wheel '19 isfixed on a shaft-22 that is rotatably mounted in bearings which are provided on asupporting frame 23to which the bracket 18,-is also attached, and the shaft 22 is provided with a pulley 24 that may be rotated'by a belt 25. The sprocket wheels 19 and 20 are disposed to rotate in a vertical space between the trackway bars 15 and 16,

-'and mounted on said sprocket wheels 19 and 20 to be actuated thereby is an endless sprocket chain. 26 whose links alternately are provided with flights 27 which project spaced with the center of the from the outer side thereof whereby when the sprocket chain 26 is actuated by rotation of the shaft 22 then the flights 27 will succepsivelytravel betweenthe bars 15 and 16 o the trackway to project upwardly therethrough to engage each with a can that may be disposed on said trackway thus to. move successive cans up the inclined portion of said trackwav to deliver such cans to the chute 45 in the manner indicated in Fig. 2. A strainer covered outlet passageway 28 is disposed in the lower portion of the side wall 6 and said passageway 28 is connected are adjustably disposed the terminals respectively of pipes 37, 38, 39 and 40. The branch fitting 32 is disposed adjacent to the top of the end wall 8 at the can receiving end of the tank so that the pipes 37 and -38 may extend therefrom,each in a course adjacent to and parallel with the trackwa-y formed by bars 15 and 16, to the opposite end of the tank, and each in such position and at such distance from said trackway as will adapt them to serve as guides for cans, as cans 42, moving on said trackway as more clearly shown in Fig. 4, said pipesv 37 and 38 being adjustably supported in -their positions by bracketsl secured to said trackway;-

Those portions of the pipes 37 d 33 which are Within the tank are providedwith rows of small holes-through that side ofeach of them which is nextto the path,

of cans moving on said trackway, through which holes cleansing fluid may be pro ected with great force against the ends of adjacent cans. The pipes 39 and 40 are adjustably connected to the branch fitting '32'to way, thence vertically downward to points near the path of cans that may move on said trackway, thence to the' delivery end of the tank in parallelism with said trackway, they being adjustably secured in such positions by said brackets: 41, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4. and both of saidpipes 39 and 40 are perforated along their under side adjacent to said trackway wherebyv cleansing fluid may be projected downwardly on to cans moving on said trackway.

I through the bottom wall 5 of the tank I Disposed to extend through '9'beneath the foblicu ely dlsposed wall 10 is a valve-controlled inlet pipe. 44 which ex-,

whereby said tank may be readily emptied for purpose of cleaning it.

the end wall tends into the tank to .a point near the middle of the length thereof said inletpipe'44 within the tank being provided with nu-.

' merous holes, as holes 4:6,through. its walls,

whereby steam may be introduced into the tank to cause such cleansing fluid to be heated to a desired temperature.

The operation of the-machine thus de scribed 'and illustrated may be described as I follows: Cans, as cans 42, are fed into the tank through the opening of the cover 13 at the can-receivingend of the tank to roll downwardly on the trackway bars 15 and 16 while guided by the pipes 37 and 38 until they reach the lowest portion of said trackway bars 15 and 16 where successive ones of said cans 42 are engaged by successive ones of the flights 27 of the sprocket chain 26 which is being moved inresponse to the rotation of the sprocket wheel 19 to be carried up the inclined portion of said. trackway bars 15 and 16 and out of the-open end of the cover 13 at the delivery end of the tank to deliver such cans 42 into the chute 45 and duringthe travel of such cans 42 over the inclined portion of said trackway bars 15 and 16 the force pump 30 .is

- actuated to pump the cleansing fluid from ,38,39and .40 from which pipes jets of the cleansing fluid are emitted with great force through the rows of holes which are provided in their sides adjacent to the moving cans 42toim'pinge against the surfaces of saidcans 42 to, dislodge dirt therefrom, in

an obvious manner,' the extreme ends of all the pipes- 37, 38, 39 and 40 being closed with .a plug as shown. extend therefrom directly 1nto the tank to I v v a point over the lowest portion of the track- Manifestly, changes may bemade in the forms, dimensions and arrangement of parts of our invention without departing from scribed, including a tank adapted to contain cleansing fluid, a can conveyer disposed to adapt it to convey cans into one end of said tank, thence downwardly into the lower portion vof the interior of said tank beneath the cleansing fluid, thence upwardly in an inclined plane above. the cleansing fluid to and out of the otherend of said tank, whereby the cans so conveyed shall in the course of their travel be submerged in cleansing fluid that may be contained in said tank,

- and means arranged adjacent the conveyer adapted to direct jets of cleansing fluid on to the .cans while the cans are submerged and above. the cleansing fluid.

1 In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 1st day of December A. 1).,

I PETER H.M0GUE. I JOSEPH R. NICHOLS.

,Witnessesz FRANK WARREN, K A; Hasxms. 

